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You do realize that these are essentially speculation on relative long and short term rates? The risk is not citigroup (not mainly anyway), the risk is changing relative rates. I didn't read enough to know the details, because I don't need to. But I know if they are paying you 10 % that these crap s...

Those "many people" (Many, Louisiana?) are correct. While you would possible save more on interest cost in constant dollar terms paying down a long term note, those interest savings are far in the future. Those far-in-the-future dollars need to be discounted to the present day.

The US cannot default unless it wants to. I don't know how much comfort you take in that, but to me it means the US will never default. In other words, it always has the ability (but the remote possibility that it won't out of I-don't-know-what) to pay its due bills. They do this by changing numbers...

They are probably offering teaser rates on a floating rate loan. My guess is its just not true. What happened is that the index has gone below zero, but retail mortgages have a margin above the index.This sound byte is a nothing burger.

A loan is a loan. Whether you borrow money to buy a car, or a house you still owe the same amount of money. The only difference is the collateral for the loan, and that would only matter if you are in such severe default that they take the collateral. So the argument that borrowing against a car is ...

It sure looks like whole life to me. It has a savings account built in. Its just that the return is 0 % on the savings part, and there is a severe penalty (100 %) for lapse. In return, the cost is not as high as "whole whole" life. It could be called "Half-Life".

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I don't really see much bad here; the fees are paid by the company. Remember that waiting til the end of the year means an average 6 mo delay; not really that significant. The main problem is that the investing is one-size fits all; not appropriate for...

This may come as a surprise to you, but Dave is in it for the money. and Vanguard is not? I've got a bridge to sell you. It's true that Vanguard is the low-cost provider, so is Wal-Mart, you think Wal-Mart is in it to be nice? How about any other low-cost providers (insert here). We are a capitalis...

The thresholds for taxation of social security benefits.. but don't hold your breath for this one. The trust fund needs all it can get. Do ordinary income taxes go into the SS Trust Fund? I thought only SS taxes did, and only when there's a surplus (as was designed in with the 1983 rescue), setting...

Besides, I already use an index-like strategy for P2P lending. You mentioned buying shares of a particular type or class of loan. My (simplified) filters invest me into borrowers with 110k+ income and who are refinancing debt. I have been buying every single note that fits this criteria for the pas...

There are taxable muni bonds and bond funds (build america bonds) and you are allowed to put them in a tax deferred account. Also you are allowed to put tax free bonds in a sheltered account but it's not advisable.

Maybe you are already insured and don't realize it. Did you check your credit card benefits? Mine covers up to $10,000. I'm pretty sure that usually only covers stuff like the tour gets cancelled or interrupted. Not that you need to renege because your elderly parent is in the hospital. Chase Sapph...

If you are thinking of hanging on just to get the foreign tax credit, don't. Lets assume $51 NAV and a $3 dividend soon. After the dividend, you will have a $48 NAV, $2 in cash, and a $1 tax credit. Still $51.

There's nothing special about spending on your debt service. Whether you spend the money on debt service for your previous consumption, or spend it today for current consumption makes no difference in after tax terms. All of your expenses are after tax. So if you go out to eat and pay the $100 bill ...

A CEF (and open end fund as well) has to follow certain rules to be a pass-through entity. If they retain taxable earnings, you and irs get a form imputing the income to you. Very few CEFs do that, I remember it happening only with capital gains. A fund that holds taxable instruments will either pay...

I don't see why you would need a guide. There are probably significant restrictions on guiding in the park. The best hike ever, I have done it twice is orderville canyon. Park at the visitor center, get a permit the day before, and hire a shuttle service (their cards are next to the permit desk) to ...

The answer is yes for most people, but it depends. The big benefit is that you contribute at your marginal rate, probably 25 % or higher, but your withdrawals will be at least partially tax free (personal exemptions + standard deduction) and low tax 15 % bracket to 73,000. So lower taxes in retireme...

Suspicious activity does not equal fraud. Maybe the suspicious people have just become more suspicious. Most mortgage fraud involves buyers or refinancers inflating their income and property values. Anyway, wouldn't the bank be the loser in this fraud? It seems pretty easy to prove that you are stil...

The consumer solar energy market is an uneconomical boondogle driven by two things: government and regulation. OK, thats one thing. If the government pulls the rug out, all these companies are busted. Costs of solar power have been plummeting. Is this due to government and regulation? If so, it's a...

It reminds me of visiting Cheptstow castle a few years ago. There was some kind of reenactment going on with people dressed up as medieval knights and monks. One of the monks was talking on his iphone.

They don't make money off of you. They make money off of folks who don't use their features as wisely as you do. Furthermore, they prevent the competition from having your money. I agree. I've had a $100K Merrill Edge account for a couple of months, filled with a handful of ETFs I never trade. For ...

RBD's for gold miners are RGDs for the rest of us. I realize that some people work in the industry but what does it really accomplish for society?They dig dirt out of the ground, extract gold with cyanide, melt the gold into bars, and then return the bars to a different hole in the ground.

Did you actually click through to buy the ticket? Try it on Orbitz. You get to the final page and they say "the price is now $135 more than it was 2 minutes ago." I don't believe an agent can get you cheaper tickets than the airline. The OLTAs may be able to show you some more flights than...

I loved using audio walking guides. There were a great series of these from Robert Wright, available for free. but sadly gone now. I wish I could find the files!Here is something similar, that I haven't done yet:

But it *is* a contradiction to say there could be prolonged deflation and no impairment of government debt quality, also starting with today's high debt load and already slow growth... With Japan's decades-long struggle with deflation and many large European countries poised on the brink of deflati...

Thanks all for the help. It looks like a person only has to know their birth date to determine their first RMD Divisor. With the time value of money, it's not clear if the two groups are treated equally. Those born July through December get to wait until age 71 to take their first RMD. As if that w...

You didn't say whether this was in a taxable account or not. If you lend securities, the dividend payments become "in lieu" of dividends and they are ordinary income, not qualified for the reduced dividend tax rate. So I would say pass if this is a taxable account. If its an IRA, the borro...